 Eliminating Meat & Dairy The fastest, most cost effective way to reducing 1 billion tons of emissions out of the atmosphere per year

Table of Contents Methane: An under appreciated emissions time bomb Meat, Dairy and Global Warming Biofuels don’t cause starvation, meat does Vegetarian diets use less water Call to Action: Proposal for $25 million Virgin Earth Challenge emissions reduction award

Methane An Under Appreciated Time Bomb

Methane being collected from a cow Reducing Methane : the fastest way to take heat out of the atmosphere Reducing meat & dairy consumption : the cheapest, fastest way to reduce methane

“...many of us are saying if you want to make an impact soon, slow down the melting of the glaciers, slow down the rise of the sea level, and so on, give us more time to deal with things, give us, society, more time, shouldn’t you work more on methane?” Methane Reduction: Buys us time in fight against global warming Source: Interview with Supreme Master Television Kirk R. Smith, MPH, PhD Professor of Global Environmental Health University of California, Berkeley

“The mitigation of non-carbon dioxide (Non-CO2) greenhouse gas emissions can be a relatively inexpensive supplement to CO2-only mitigation strategies.” “Methane Mitigation has the largest potential across all the Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases.” Methane: Key To Rapid Emissions Reductions US Environmental Protection Agency Global Mitigation of Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases June 2006

“Control of methane emissions turns out to be a more powerful lever to control global warming than would be anticipated.” Drew Shindell, PhD Atmospheric Physicist NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Source: NASA/Goddard Report: Methane’s Impact on Climate Change May Be Twice Previous Estimates

Methane: A more potent gas over shorter periods Source: US Environmental Protection Agency Report: Global Mitigation of Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases, IPCC Methane’s global warming potential (GWP) is greater over shorter time periods due to a shorter atmospheric lifetime (12 years vs 1000 years for CO2) Methane 23 times hotter than CO2 (100 yr time period) Methane GWP est. = 23 Methane 68 times hotter than CO2 (20 yr time period) Methane GWP est. = 68

1 billion tons of methane* will dissipate faster than 1 billion tons of CO2 Billions of tons (CO2 Equivalents) Methane Dissipating Carbon Dioxide Remaining Source: IPCC

Meat & Dairy: #1 Source of Human – Cause Methane Emissions Globally (37%) Methane from Meat & Dairy = Manure + Enteric Fermentation Source: US Environmental Protection Agency, UN FAO United Kingdom #1 Livestock (43%) #2 Landfill (18%) #3 Oil & Gas (17%) United Kingdom #1 Livestock (43%) #2 Landfill (18%) #3 Oil & Gas (17%) United States #1 Livestock (30%) #2 Landfill (25%) #3 Oil & Gas (24%) United States #1 Livestock (30%) #2 Landfill (25%) #3 Oil & Gas (24%) Germany #1 Livestock (62%) #2 Landfill (13%) #3 Oil & Gas (17%) Germany #1 Livestock (62%) #2 Landfill (13%) #3 Oil & Gas (17%)

Being Vegan 1 day per week eliminates 1 billion tons of methane (in CO2 equivalents) * *In CO2 equivalents over 20 years with an estimated GWP of 68 Billions of tons of emissions saved per year Source: UN FAO, Livestock’s Long Shadow, IPCC Note: Does not include emissions reductions for CO2 or Nitrous Oxide

 Meat, Dairy & Global Warming (other emissions)

Meat & Dairy: #1 Source of all Human-Caused Greenhouse Gas Emissions (24%) Emissions from Livestock Methane: 37% Carbon Dioxide: 9% Nitrous Oxide: 67% 9% from Meat, Dairy 36% from Meat, Dairy 67% from Meat, Dairy Assumes global warming potential = 68 Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization & UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization & IPCC estimates Assume Methane Global Warming Potential = years, 20 years Global Warming Potential = 68Global Warming Potential = 23 The UN FAO states the livestock industry causes 18% of global warming --- over a 100 year time frame. Over a shorter time period, meat and dairy are responsible for 24% of global warming due to the higher global warming potential of methane over shorter periods of time. Meat & Dairy: #1 Source of all Human-Caused Greenhouse Gas Emissions (24%) Assumes global warming potential = 68

Meat & Dairy: Cause 9 % of Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions Deforestation and other land use change Desertification On farm fuel use Fertilizer manufacture CO2 release from cultivated soil Source: Livestock’s Long Shadow, UN Food & Agriculture Organization, Nov Annual tons of CO2 Emissions from Livestock (millions of tons)

Stop eating Meat & Dairy to halt 30% of Tropical Rainforest Deforestation Deforestation and other land use change Desertification On farm fuel use Fertilizer manufacture CO2 release from cultivated soil Source: Livestock’s Long Shadow, UN Food & Agriculture Organization, Nov If we want to halt tropical rainforest deforestation in Latin America, stop eating animal products. Annual tons of CO2 Emissions from Livestock (millions of tons)

Meat & Dairy: #1 Source of all Human-Caused Nitrous Oxide (67%) Nitrous oxide is released from manure and from nitrogen fertilizers used in growing feed crops for animals The manure and nitrous oxide flow out the rivers and into the ocean, where they are a significant contributor to the oceans dead zones Nitrous Oxide is 296 times more potent than CO2 & dissipates in 114 years

Meat & Dairy: #1 Source of all Human-Caused Nitrous Oxide (67%)

 Biofuels Don’t Cause Starvation meat does

Biofuels don’t cause starvation Meat does Every 2.3 seconds, a child dies from malnutrition The 760 million tonnes of grain fed to animals could feed 2 billion people, so could cover the global food shortage 14 times over 1 ha produces potatoes to support 22 people 1 ha produces rice to support 19 people 1 ha produces lamb to support 2 people 1 ha produces beef to support 1 person 800 million hungry – 1 billion obese Source: UNICEF, World Health Organization, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Earth Policy Institute

Biofuels don’t cause starvation Meat does Source: UN Food & Agriculture Organization, World Food Organization 2007/08 Global Grain Crop Production: 2109 million metric tons Global hunger happens when the impoverished compete for grain with animals fed to the wealthy. Biofuels play only a small role. Number of People on the Planet (2007): 6.7 billion

 Vegetarian Diets Use Less Water than meat diets

Vegetarian Diets use less water than Meat Diets  Global Warming Threatens our already-dwindling water supply  Africa water availability in 2025 forecast to be < 50% of 1990 levels  US Southwest – Lake Mead (serving 23 million people with water) forecast to be dry by  Spain fining people €9,000 for watering flowers

Vegetarian Diets use less Water than Meat Diets  70% water usage by agriculture;10% is used at home, and 20% by industry.  19,737 litres of water are needed to produce one pound of beef in California. This is enough to take a 7 minute shower everyday for an entire year. Source: Stockholm International Water Institute, University of California-Davis, UN Food & Agriculture Organization

 An entire vegan meal uses 371 litres of water  One average serving of chicken uses 1,249 litres  One serving of beef 4,664 litres Vegetarian Diets use less water than Meat Diets Source: Water Inputs in California Food Production, University of California - Davis WATER

Call to Action Together we can work together to make the world a better place Invest money in eliminating meat & dairy to save the environment to feed the hungry to ensure adequate water resources Via... Ending all subsidies on meat, dairy and feedstocks Providing only vegan meals on Virgin Airlines Tax on meat and dairy Ban the sale of meat and dairy in all government institutions Include agriculture emissions in emissions reduction plans Label all meat & dairy in supermarkets & restaurants with emissions levels Encourage all citizens to eat vegan

END For more information, please see: